Faith Focus: Delivery?

Food delivery services like Grubhub and Uber Eats are growing exponentially, changing the restaurant industry along the way. Armed with the ease of online ordering, these services may grow as much as 79 percent by 2022, becoming a $76 billion behemoth. Now, we can have anything we want to eat delivered to us with the click of a button.

We may never have to leave our couch again.

Nourishment – physical and spiritual – are among humanity’s most basic needs. We crave bread just as we seek the bread of life. If we’re not careful, we can become gluttons for both.

The satisfaction we feel each time we have a helping of food drives us to seek more. So we consume more. And more and more, leaving us bloated.

The same happens when we ingest spiritual knowledge through reading the Bible and praying. God’s Word feeds our souls. It builds us up and makes us better people. We grow closer to him, and that feels good. We pursue more knowledge. And more knowledge. But we must keep in mind the goal of gaining knowledge, lest we become spiritually bloated.

The continual amassment of knowledge without putting our faith into action leads us to become Pharisees. We begin believing we know more than others. We think we are closer to God and therefore more important.

James 2:17 says "In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead." Studying Scripture and praying are great, biblical things all Christians must do. But we must keep mind that we are charged through those practices to shine hope into the lives of others.

Fortunately, the cure for spiritual bloating is simple: Exercise. We are meant for more than consumption. God designed us to be vessels, taking in Scripture in order to share it with others. Whereas exercising our bodies makes us stronger physically, exercising our faith grows God’s kingdom.

How will you exercise this week?

Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age. –Matthew 28:19-20